Australia is in need of an opening partner for Usman Khawaja following the retirement of David Warner earlier this year and the return of Steve Smith to his regular number four position.
Australia has been supported by former players Ian Healy and Ricky Ponting. Nathan McSweeney will fill the unfilled spot on the national team for the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against India, which begins in Perth on November 22. Australia is in need of an opening partner for Usman Khawaja because Steve Smith is expected to return to his usual number four position and David Warner announced his retirement earlier this year. Marcus Harris, Sam Konstas, Cameron Bancroft, and McSweeney are among the candidates vying for the open position.
“A week or two ago, I was put on the position, and I kind of went straight to Sam Konstas, the young man. “Against South Australia, he had scored consecutive hundreds,” Ponting stated on the “ICC Review Show.”
“Then I thought a bit more about it and, he is so young and he has probably not even played on grounds like Optus (Perth) Stadium or at The Gabba.”Nor would he have participated in a pink-ball (match) at Adelaide Oval. The young man is undoubtedly talented, but there are many factors working against him. In the last four innings, McSweeney has amassed 291 runs, including a century in the One-Day Cup and the Sheffield Shield. “For me, Nathan McSweeney, a Queensland native who currently plays for South Australia, is the only name that remains. “He outperformed all of those guys from the ‘A’ game in Australia right now.” He also has greater experience. He is now captaining Australia A, having previously captained them. I’m now leaning toward McSweeney for the first position at the beginning of the Australian summer. McSweeney, who leads Australia A at the moment, has left a lasting impact. In the first unofficial Test match against India A, the 25-year-old batted at No. 4 and led the charge in the second inning after playing a consistent knock in the first inning.”I was glad people could see how Nathan McSweeney can bat yesterday, he put his shots away for the good of the situation,” Healy told the media.
I was aware of him since he was a member of my club, and the Australian selectors were aware of his recent success playing for South Australia.
“He demonstrated that, at 25, he is the most prepared of the four. Harris and Bancroft, who have been tried and tested, are a little older, while Konstas is a little younger. Overall, from that performance, he’s the most suitable,” Healy continued.
Ponting thought that if Australia had wanted to go back to Bancroft and Harris, who have both played Test cricket before, they would have done so after Warner retired.Rather, the Australian think tank tried sending Smith to open, but this approach didn’t work out so well.
“Another thing that I’d said then was that I don’t think they’d go back to a Bancroft or Harris because if they’re willing to do that they would’ve done it the last year,” Ponting continued.
